Heartbeat
by TheForgottenOne17
Summary: Katniss and Peeta have been friends since their Dad's died in a mining accident five years ago. When Peeta and Katniss are thrown into the Hunger Games together, will their love become the heartbeat of a rebellion?
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to Suzanne Collins.**

– Chapter One –

I wake up with the warmth of a body next to me. I turn over to find Prim, my younger sister, cuddled into my side. I brushed the hair away from her face and slowly make my way out of the bed. I slipped on my Dad's old hunting jacket and left the room.

Outside, the air was cold and I pulled the jacket tighter around me. I made my way to the meadow, where the fence to the woods was weakest, and I made my way through. I pulled one of my Dad's old bows and my game bag from a hallow tree a mile or two into my trek.

I was about to get a great shot at a deer when a stick creaked, scaring him off. I sighed turning around and look up at the culprit of the noise. Peeta is standing there with a rabbit hanging by a rope. I smiled and walked closer, slinging my bow across my back.

"Where was it?" I asked taking a good look at it.

"Down by the creek," he says tying the rope to his belt loop.

"It'll make a good stew after the reaping," I say as we walk farther into the woods. He agrees, and tells me we should look for some more.

"We should get some berries and sell them to the mayor, he always buys good strawberries," he says as we near the patch by the small lake my father took me to as a small child.

We gather the berries in a bucket I have stored in my game bag and add a few fish to the days hunting total. As we make our way back to our spot, we check Peeta's traps and get a few birds along the way. The traps are empty, but we have enough as it is to trade for a few good items.

When we make it to our spot, Peeta adds the rabbit into my game bag and we sit down. Our spot is really just a rock overhang, but it's ours nonetheless. I turned around for a minute to situate everything in the game bag and when I turn back around there was a fresh loaf of bread in my face.

"What did you trade for this?" I asked enthusiastically splitting it in half.

"Well, I think the baker was felling pretty kind today anyway and his wife wasn't there, so I got it for a squirrel," he said biting into his half. I bit into my own, and let the warmth flow through me. The bread was still soft and warm and I wished this moment would last longer.

Peeta and I sat quietly while we ate our breakfast and the world was stilled around us. He turned to me just as I was finishing up and looked into my eyes. "Are you nervous?"

He was asking about the Reaping. Every year the Capitol, the ruler of our nation, picks a boy and a girl, from the ages of 12-18, from each from one of the twelve districts, and forces them into the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are a televised fight to the death. This year is the 74th annual Hunger Games, and the first time Prim's name has been entered. Her name's only in there once, but it can't help but make me scared.

I looked back at Peeta and nodded, "Peeta, I'm so scared. Her name's only in there once, the odds are in her favor, but I'm so scared. She's only twelve, Peeta, she doesn't know how to defend herself…"

"Kaniss, look at me. Prim is going to be fine, you hear me," he said, his bright blue eyes staring into mine. I took a deep breath and nodded, looking off into the distance. I felt Peeta's arm wrap around my waist and I leaned my head onto his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head as I thought.

Peeta and I are, I guess you could say dating. We have been for a while now, but we've known each other for a long time. Our dads both died in a mining accident when we were eleven. I had never really talked to Peeta until after the medal ceremonies, when I saw him in the woods.

My Dad had taught me how to hunt with a bow before he died, and it wasn't until we were going to literally starve to death that I went out in the woods. We saw each other there as he was making traps and I had just landed a nice sized bird. It was there; that we decided to help each other and we began splitting the game we caught.

Splitting the game made everything easier. We could each provide for both of our families, and we could sell everything extra we caught. Luckily, Peacekeepers, who are supposed to stop us from hunting, buy our game. Also, the people in Town buy a few things here and there, like the baker and the mayor. It also helped, that Peeta was good at making traps. He taught me a few simple ones and I taught him the basics of shooting a bow.

"We could leave you know," Peeta said turning to me.

"And go where?"

"Into the woods, we could take both of our families."

"Can you see Prim and my mother out here? They would find us anyway," I said looking him square in the eyes, reminding him of the people that had us trapped here in the first place.

"I guess you're right. It was a stupid thought really," he said looking back out at the tree line.

We sat there a few more minutes processing what he had suggested before Peeta sighed and I felt him move away from me and start standing up. "Well, we better get to the Hob before it gets too late and we can't sell anything."

"All right, lets get going," I said gathering up our things.

We made the trek back to the fence, and checked all the traps again and stored my bow in the log. At the fence, we made sure it wasn't live for almost the first time ever and climbed through. The streets of District 12 were completely empty. Not a soul insight because everyone was busy preparing for the Reaping, which would take place in just a few hours.

At the Hob, District Twelve's black market, people were lined up trying to get their hands on what they needed and selling what they didn't. Peeta and I sold half of the fish to Greasy Sea, an older woman who keeps a food stand in the Hob, and sold a pint of the berries to Cray, the head Peacekeeper. Peeta and I each got a bowl of stew from Sea's and sat down behind her stand talking quietly.

"Peeta?'

"Hm?" he asked around a mouth full of soup.

"How many times is your name in there?"

"Don't worry about me Katniss, I'll be fine."

"Just answer me Peeta how many times is your name in there?"

"Forty-two," he said in response looking down at his soup.

I sighed reaching over and pushing the hair back from his eyes. He caught my hand in his as I was going to drop it, and kissed the palm of my hand.

"I'll be fine Kat."

"I know." We ate the rest of our meal in silence until it was time for us to head down to the Mayor's house to deliver the berries. The Town, where the Mayor lives along with the people who own a business, is a better place to live than in the rest of the district. Here, things are cleaner and well maintained. The Seam, where Peeta and I live, is full of coal dust and sickness. But here, people have the money to go to the apothecary and get the medicine they need, most of the time.

The Town and the Seam are made up of two completely different people as well. People in the Seam, have olive toned skin, dark hair, and grey eyes, typically. Peeta, Prim, and my mother are some of the exceptions, they look like people from the Town: blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.

The Mayor's daughter, Madge, opened the door. Madge was a nice girl, and I occasionally do school projects with her when no one else I reason is in my class.

"Hi, Katniss, hi, Peeta," she said opening the door farther.

"Hey, Madge, is your dad around?" Peeta said with a flourish that made you think he had lived in Town his whole life.

"Yeah, just a minute, he's busy getting ready for the Reaping. Just wait here, he'll be right down with you," she said turning around.

Mayor Undersee was down with us shortly just as Madge said he would be. "Hello, how can I help you today?"

"Well, we have some fresh strawberries, if you're interested," I said pulling the bucket up in front of me.

"Yes, I'll take them all if that's all right with you," he said handing us a fair amount of money for the berries.

"Thank-you," Peeta and I both said turning to leave.

"See you both at the Reaping," he said closing the door tight behind him.

Peeta and I made the walk back to the Seam in a silence as we thought of what was going to be happening in just a few hours. The Reaping is a required event that everyone in the District attends. The only way you get out of it is if you're near death.

My house came up before us before I knew it, and Peeta walked me to the front door. He set my game bag down by the front door, before wrapping me in his arms. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. He smelt like a fresh breeze and the woods surrounding our District. I could feel his strong arms wrapped around me, and I felt safe and warm, making me never want to leave.

Peeta pulled away from me and took my face in his hands. "Katniss, everything is going to be fine. I feel like a broken record saying that over and over, but you just have to trust me."

"I do, but nothing anyone says is going to make me less afraid than I am now," I said looking into his eyes.

"I love you," Peeta says lowering his lips down to mine.

"I love you too," I say meeting his lips with mine. I pull away when I hear movement from within my house, and know it's Prim watching us from the window. Peeta and I share a look, both knowing what's happening inside, and share a quiet laugh before the front door opens.

Prim rushes out, wrapping Peeta in a hug as he lifts her up into his arms. "How are you little duck?" he says using the nickname I came up with when she was little.

She looks at me and answers in her sweet voice, "Well, I'm nervous," she says looking down to the coal dust covered ground.

Peeta lifts her face up like he often does with mine, and looks her straight in the eye, "Prim, everything will be fine." He kisses her forehead before setting her back down on the ground.

"Well, we'll see you in the square," I say herding Prim in the door after grabbing my game bag.

"Bye, Kat," he says turning away before I shut the door.

**A/N: As you can see, Katniss and Peeta are a lot different in my story. I did this with purpose, because it drove me nuts that Katniss could be so mean. So, please don't tell me that they are out of character; I want them that way. Also, I am trying to make these chapters longer than the chapters in my other story, so Updates are going to be farther apart. Maybe two or three times a month, although, it could be more. I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this. Please, leave a review and tell me what I can fix so I can be a better writer!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to Suzanne Collins.**

– Chapter Two–

When I enter the house, my mother is standing in the kitchen over our stove boiling a soup broth. "Here's a rabbit for the stew," I say pulling the rabbit out and setting it on the counter.

I walked away before anything else could be said and went into the bathroom. I ran a bath, pulling off my clothes before stepping in. The water is cold because the only way we can take a warm bath is to boil water over the stove, which doesn't happen very often. I kept my bath short and wrapped myself in an old tattered towel before going in to mine and Prim's room.

There is blue dress designated for my use lying on the bad. It is one of my mothers from when she lived in Town as a girl. Her parents owned the apothecary but my mother feel in love with my dad and here we are. The dress is short sleeved, falls to my knees, and has a bow that ties behind me at the small of my back.

I tie the bow to the best of my ability before stepping out of the room. My mother and Prim are sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast when I come out and they both look over to me. "What did you just do?" Prim asks standing up.

I frowned and looked at myself; I thought I looked fine. "What have I done now?" I ask as Prim comes up behind me.

"You've got this bow all wrong," she says retying it. I sighed and let her tie the bow before I sat down at the dining room table. They sit down at the table around me and just as I was about to grab a piece of cheese from my sister's goat, Lady, my mother speaks up.

"Here, let me do your hair," she says standing up. I don't protest, and I let her do as she pleases. When she's done, my hair has been put up in an intricate braid. I don't dare touch it in the fear that it would come crashing down. I got up slowly and walked into the kitchen to look at our clock.

Peeta would be here shortly with his two younger brothers Rye and Kale. This would be Rye's first reaping as well as Prim's. Kale is only five, and he was born just after our fathers were killed. Prim and Rye often played together when Peeta and I were out hunting. They had only been seven when the accident happened and when Peeta and I officially met, they became instant friends.

Just as I was slipping my last shoe on, there was a knock at the front. Prim was going to beat me to it, so I stayed where I was. Peeta walked in the house with his little brothers following quickly behind and their mother coming in last shutting the door. Prim and Rye quickly got to playing a game of chess and Kale climbed up to sit in my lap.

Peeta sat down next to us, and put his arm around my shoulder. Kale had his legs wrapped around me and his head resting on my shoulder: the top of his head just brushing Peeta's arm. My mother and Peeta's were conversing quietly in the kitchen but other than that, not a word was being said. My hand was rhythmically rubbing Kale's back and I was watching Rye and Prim's game of chess unfold.

I heard the clock in the kitchen strike ten and everyone in the house stilled. Peeta and I glanced at each other before I set Kale down and we got up from the couch. Prim and Rye stopped their game and our mother's stopped talking. Everyone shuffled to the front door before heading out of the house.

Everyone in the street looked a lot like us. They were either looking down to the ground or walking steely eyed forward. There were no words being said and the only things you could hear were babies crying and the sound of feet. Kale grabbed my hand and I gave it a squeeze as Peeta walked close beside me. Prim was standing close to our mother and you could see the gears turning in her mind. She was nervous and although Rye didn't show it, he was too.

When we arrived at the square, I handed Kale off to Peeta's mother and walked up to Prim. "You're going to be fine," I said smoothing her hair down.

She nodded and I pulled her in close for a hug. "You're going to go stand over there with the other twelve year old girls ok?" I said pointing to one of the many roped off sections. Just as she was about to turn away from me, I pulled her into another hug. I felt her shirttail sticking out and I whispered, "Tuck your tail in little duck."

She walked away tucking her shirt in and I sighed before standing up. Peeta had just finished talking to Rye and we shared a look. Peeta walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he whispered in my ear, "They'll be fine, I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered back before I let go and we walked to our respected sections. Madge was standing near the edge of our section and I stood next to her as the rest of the children filed in around us. Madge looked nice, she had on a pretty pink dress that she probably got just for this occasion. Then again, she had the money to do just that.

Everyone was quiet, and you could've heard a pin drop until we heard footsteps on the stage in front of us. The Mayor, Haymitch Abernanthy – the only living Victor from District 12, and Effie Trinket – District 12's escort walked out, the latter two each taking a seat. The Mayor stood in front of the microphone set up in center stage and recounted the tale of Panem.

Every year the story of the Rebellion is told in each District before the actual Reaping takes place. In short, the tale goes like this; the thirteen Districts rebelled and the Capitol won. In the end, Districts 13 was bombed and the entire District sunk into the seas. No one survived. Since then, the Hunger Games have been held to show the Capitol's power over the Districts. When the Mayor had told the whole tale, it was Effie Trinket's turn.

Effie Trinket was District 12's escort. She was in charge of making sure our Tributes made it safely to the Capitol only so they could be killed in days. She was obviously the low man on the totem pole if she was saddled with us. District 12 was the black sheep of the Districts and you could see it in Effie's face she had no desire to be here.

"Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in you favor," there was no response. "Well, isn't this lovely?" she said clapping her hands together. Not a sound was made from the crowd and she frowned before continuing. "As you know, it is quite an honor to be the Tribute from your District, and should you be chosen, you should wear your title with pride," she smiled.

Something caught my attention to the right of Effie it was Haymitch standing up. He was walking to the front of the stage right at the cameras. He was drunk as a skunk as usual and he stuck his face in the camera. Just as he was making an obscene gesture at the camera, he face planted off the stage. There was a chuckle or two from the crowd before two Peacekeepers picked him up off the ground.

District 12 has only had two Victors in over seventy years. Haymitch is the only living Victor, and if he didn't have to be here, he wouldn't. He won during the 50th Hunger Games and after he won he lost himself to the bottle. I've never seen him sober a day in my life and he never leaves his home in Victor's Village unless he has to. I guess, if you had seen the things he had, you wouldn't want to leave either. I don't know much about the year Haymitch won, but I know it was particularly brutal. I also know he was younger than I am now but older by a year or two than Prim.

When Haymitch had been moved to a safe location where he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else, the Reaping continued. "Well, after that little show, I suppose it's time to move on," Effie said with a forced smile. "Well, ladies first," she said walking over to the glass ball that had hundreds of slips of paper in it each with a name finely printed on it.

The world seemed to have slowed down around me and everything I heard was magnified tenfold. "Please not Prim," I whispered, "Please not Prim." Every step Effie took turned my stomach upside down and the sound of her heeled shoes reminded me of the sound of a gunshot.

When she approached the bowl, she smiled a long while before plunging her hand in. She moved her hand in the bowl for minutes as if she couldn't pick a single one up out of the hundreds. The sound of my heart pounding was giving me a headache and she couldn't pick a name fast enough. When she finally grabbed a name, she pulled it out faster than I thought humanly possible.

Her walk back to the microphone seemed even longer than her walk to the glass ball and the tension in the square was palpable. It seemed as if all breathing stopped and not a sound was heard but Effie's shoes. When she arrived back at the microphone, she tapped it twice to make sure it was still working and the sound echoed throughout the entire square.

The longer it took her to open the slip of paper the slower my breathing became. You could hear to sound of the paper opening in the microphone, and when she got it fully opened, my breathing really did stop.

"Primrose Everdeen." My mind went blank. This wasn't happening. The odds were in her favor, this didn't make sense. I saw Prim step out of her section and Effie telling her to hurry along up to the podium. My mind raced trying to come up with a solution.

"Prim," I yelled trying to run to her but the Peacekeepers were holding me back. "I volunteer," I yelled pushing the men off me, "I volunteer as Tribute!"

"Katniss, no you can't do this!" Prim cried when I made it to her.

"Go back to mom," I said pushing her behind me and walking to the stage. Prim tried to come after me but the Peacekeepers held her back and took her to our mother.

I got onto the stage and Effie turned to me, "And what's your name?" she asked putting the microphone under my face.

"Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet my buttons that was your little sister," she said with a flourish and before I could reply, she was talking again. "And now it's time to pick our male Tribute," she said moving to the ball filled with the boys names.

All I could think about was how many times Peeta's name was entered; forty-two. Effie took just as long to pick a name this time and my thoughts were turned to mush before she even made it back to the microphone. As she unraveled the paper this time, it seemed it was even louder in the microphone.

She smiled when she was able to get the slip open before announcing the name, "Peeta Mellark."

No. It couldn't be right, this wasn't for real. But, there was Peeta walking to the stage just to the right of me. You could see the shock on his face, which was probably reflected in my own. No, the odds were not in my favor today.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what I can improve on!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to Suzanne Collins.**

– Chapter Three–

As Peeta neared the stage, I went rigid. This was not the way today was supposed to happen. Two kids I'd heard of and seen once or twice were supposed to be chosen not Peeta and I. Peeta's footsteps echoed on the stage and I looked to him. His face was stricken with shock and he seemed to be moving mechanically. Effie smiled as she watched him take his last steps to stand beside her.

"Well, go on shake hands," she urged us on.

We turned to each other and locked eyes. Every emotion was running through his eyes; hate, fear, love. I stuck my hand out for him to shake, and instead, he pulled me into a hug. I was taken by surprise and it took me a minute to feel comfortable in his arms.

"We'll be okay," Peeta said kissing the top of my head discretely. Peeta let me out of the hug, and we turned to face the rest of our District. Everyone in the crowd was raising their left hands in a three-fingered solute. Sure, the cameras had caught everything but that would surly be cut in the recaps that would be playing from this moment on.

Peeta and I were quickly scooted off the stage and into the Justice Building for one last meeting with our families and whoever else would come to say goodbye. The room I was put into was small and an old velvet sofa was pushed up against one wall. There was a small window on the wall opposite of the door and with the light shining in; you could see every dust particle floating in the air.

There was a knock at the door before my mother and sister came in. Prim ran into my arms and my mother stood watching over the scene. "Kat-Katniss, you can't go!" Prim sobbed.

I shushed her and rubbed my hands up and down her back. "I'll be fine, Prim."

"You have to promise me you'll try as hard as you can to win," she said pulling back and wiping her eyes.

"I promise little duck," I said before I stood up to face my mother.

My mother was looking towards the door as if she couldn't wait to get out. "Look at me," I said shaking her shoulders. When I got her to look at me, I continued, "Listen to me, you can't tune out this time like you did when dad died. You have to stay strong for Prim. You two can make it work. Prim, you can sell cheese and milk from Lady. And Mother, if you and Peeta's mother work together, you can get through. And whatever you do, don't take anything from them, it's not worth it."

The door opened and a Peacekeeper came in, "Your times up," he said standing with the door open. I grabbed Prim in one last hug, before they were forced out of the room. I walked dejectedly back to the sofa and sat down. I tried my hardest to keep from crying, but a few traitor tears made their way down my face.

My hand fell down to my side and I rubbed my hand along the soft velvet. I heard another knock at the door and Peeta's family walked in. Kale, too young to understand what was going on around him, smiled a big smile before running at me. I caught him in my arms and held him close as the Peacekeeper shut the door. Rye stood next to his mother and looked at us sadly before Peeta's mother spoke up.

"Katniss, no one could have ever seen this coming, and I am so sorry."

I lifted Kale up and set him on my hip, "I feel as if I should be saying that to you because Peeta's going in with me."

"Katniss, I've thought of you as my daughter for five years, just because my son's going in with you, doesn't mean I can't feel sorry for you as well," she said smiling sadly.

I nodded burring my head into the crook of Kale's neck before I set him down. "Thank you," I said going over to her and enveloping her in a hug.

"I'll watch over Prim and your mother," she whispered.

"Thank you," I said backing away just as the door opened.

"That's it," the Peacekeeper said ushering them out the door and letting one last visitor in.

Madge walked in wearing her pretty pink Reaping dress. "Hello, Katniss."

"Come sit down," I said gesturing to the sofa.

Madge followed me and sat down taking my hands in hers. She pressed something into my palm and I opened it up to look at a gold pin of a mockingjay. "I want you to have it, it was my aunts and every Tribute is allowed a token from their District, and I want this to be yours."

"No, Madge, I couldn't possibly take that," I said holding it out to her.

"You have to," she said closing my fingers around it.

I sighed, pinning it onto the front of my dress, "Thank you."

"Good luck," she said before standing up and letting herself out. There were no more visitors after that. I sat for what seemed like an eternity before a Peacekeeper came to retrieve me. Peeta walked out of his room the same time I did, and it took all I had not to make a run for him.

We were taken in two different cars to the train depot where a Capitol style train would take us to our deaths. There was a crowd of people standing outside the station and it was a struggle to get onto the train. When we finally made it in, it was the most elaborate thing I had ever seen.

Every wall was papered, the light fixtures were gold covered, the floors were carpeted, and everything was extremely clean. Peeta and I looked around in awe before two voices interrupted us. The voices belonged to our Mentor and Escort. Effie and Haymitch rounded the corner and came into view.

"Well, there you two are!" Effie exclaimed and told us to sit down at the large table in the center of the room. "Well, isn't this exciting!" Effie said smiling and looking around to each of us in turn as the train started moving. None of us said anything and Effie looked down at her dress straightening out the imaginary creases.

There was food sitting on the long table, which all of us quickly indulged in. There was every type of food you could imagine. Five different kinds of soup, dozens of different dinner roles, meat I had never seen, and every dessert you could think of. Peeta and I piled our plates high with everything resting on the table. But, within minutes, we could no longer eat.

Peeta caught me off guard when he spoke, "What's your advice for us?"

Haymitch laughed in between drinks and I realized this probably wasn't a good time to talk to him. I tried to nudge Peeta under the table with my foot but it was too late and Hymitch replied, "Stay alive." He laughed again, slamming his drink on the table.

Peeta looked aggravated, and I tried to calm him by placing my hand on his thigh, but it was no good. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up, "That's your great advice! You're not going to tell us how to survive in the arena? You're our mentor, that's what your supposed to do!"

Haymitch stood up as well, "You're not going to last a minute in that arena if you act like that, now sit down." Peeta reluctantly sat down and glared at Haymitch the whole time. "Now," Haymitch said sitting back down as well, "It seems as if I've got some fighters this year. Now, we'll have to plan out a strategy tomorrow, but what skills do you have, if any?"

"Peeta is strong!" I said right away, "He won second place in wrestling last year."

Peeta looked over at me with sadness in his eyes, "I'm not going to kill someone by wrestling them, Katniss."

"But you'll have an upper hand in hand to hand combat," I said defiantly locking eyes with him.

"Well, Katniss can hunt. She hits her target in the eye every time," Peeta smirked looking over at me.

"What goods that going to do me if there are no bows in the arena?" I said crossing my arms over my chest.

Haymitch spoke up before our little fight could escalate, "If you show the Gamemakers your skills in your final evaluation, they'll make sure your choice of weapon is put in the arena. Now, since you both have some talent that I know of, I can work on thinking of a plan. I'm going to bed." He stood up, and brought a bottle of liquor with him heading off to his room.

Peeta and I sat quietly before Effie stood up and went to her room as well. I turned to him and looked up into his eyes. He opened up his arms, and I clambered up into his lap. He held me quietly and stroked my hair. No words needed to be said; we just needed to be together. I breathed in the skin at the crook of his neck and was struck by the smell of home.

We hadn't really spoken since this morning and the day was wearing me down. Nothing could keep the tears from raining down my face when I thought of Prim and Peeta held me closer letting me cry. When I thought of Peeta's own family, I looked up at him and saw the tears running silently down his cheeks. I brought my hands to his face and wiped his eyes with the pads of my thumbs. He did the same and all the while we were staring at each other.

"Why did this happen to us?' I sobbed falling back into his chest.

"I don't know, Kat, I don't know."

"It's not fair," I said sounding like a petulant child.

Peeta sighed, "Katniss, I want you to know I'm going to try as hard as I can to get you back home."

"No! Peeta your Mother needs you! And Rye and Kale need you, Peeta, you have a life waiting for you back home," I protested.

"And you don't, Katniss? What about getting married and having kids, are you willing to throw that all away?"

"Peeta, I couldn't do any of that without you, you know that!" I said reaching hysterics.

"And you think I could just move on?" Peeta asked setting me back in my chair and standing up.

"You have to win," I said standing up and pushing him into the wall with the palms of my hands. I pounded on his chest before I couldn't take the thought of losing him anymore and collapsed into his arms. I don't know how long we stood like that, but when he picked me up in his arms, I didn't protest.

Peeta opened a door in one of the hallways, and flipped a light on. The room was a bedroom decorated with a small bed, dresser, and it's own bathroom. Peeta laid me on the bed and kissed my forehead before he started walking away to the door.

"Wait," I croaked, "don't leave me."

"I'm just shutting off the light," he said.

I sighed in relief and scooted farther over on the bed to make room for him to lie down beside me. When he shut the light off, the room was washed in darkness and Peeta had to feel his way around back to the bed. When he sat down, the bed sagged down and my eyes started adjusting. He sat on the edge of the bed, and peeled his shirt off before lying down.

He opened his arms to me and I wrapped myself into them. He was the warmth I needed and I rested my head on his chest, looking up at his face. He was looking at the ceiling so I brought my hand to his face so he would look at me. When he did, he smiled tightly and kissed my forehead again.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," I said kissing his jaw and the last thing I saw before I feel asleep, was a single tear running down the side of his face.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, and please tell me what I can fix in a review! Oh, and I'm sorry this is a little late; the holiday weekend was a little crazy. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to Suzanne Collins.**

– Chapter Four–

Peeta and I woke up to sound of someone knocking on the door. "Get up, it's going to be a big big day!" Effie said shrilly through the door.

I looked up to see Peeta with his arm thrown over his eyes and his other arm was wrapped around my waist. I smiled sliding up and pulling at his arm. It wouldn't budge so I huffed in mock annoyance and rolled over on my back to look at the ceiling.

Peeta chuckled and rolled over so he was hovering above me. His hair was falling in his eyes, so I pushed it back so I could see his blue eyes. He kissed my hand when I rested it on his cheek. "We need to get up before they come in here and see us," I said kissing his wrist, which was right next to my head.

He sighed, "I know." When he rolled back over, he pulled me with him so I was lying across his body with my nose touching his. I kissed his lips before standing up and stretching my stiff limbs. Peeta got up as well and slipped his shirt back on before heading to the door. He opened the door slightly and peaked down the hallway before he slipped out.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and sighed. My braid was a fuzzy mess, I had slept in my dress and it was so wrinkled, it looked like a crumpled up sheet. When I went to turn on the shower, I froze. There were so many knobs and buttons I didn't know what to push. When I got just the water running, I slipped out of my dress and stepped in.

The water was warm and I thought about how long it would take us to get just one bath this warm. I pushed some other button and lavender scented shampoo was squirted into my hair. Before I was ready, my body was sprayed with lemon body wash and the smell was so strong I sneezed uncontrollably. It took me a good ten minutes to get everything washed off before I could I get out.

I picked up my dress off of the floor and laid it on the bed. I carefully took the Mockingjay pin off and laid it on the dresser. When I found a pair of khaki pants and a forest green shirt and pulled them on. Once I was done dressing, I put my pin on my new sweater, I put my hair back into its intricate braid before stepping out of the room. I heard the sound of voices to the right and headed to where I assumed we ate supper the night before.

Peeta, Effie, and Haymitch were seated around the table and it looked to me as if Peeta and Haymitch were in deep conversation. I sat next to Peeta and he looked up at me with a loving look in his eyes before turning back to Haymitch.

It sounded to me as if they were having a conversation about survival in the arena so I began to listen. "I'll make a fire then," Peeta countered.

"And that is quickest way to get yourself killed," Haymitch said throwing his hands up. "All either of you needs to do is find shelter and water. If you try and do anything else, you'll likely be killed."

"What if there's no good places for shelter?' I asked around a mouthful of muffin.

"Then you better run like hell because you'll want to distance yourself from all the other Tributes," Haymitch said putting jam on his toast.

I sighed and felt Peeta's hand on my knee. I put my hand over top of his own and he shoved and mug of brown steaming liquid my way. "They call it hot chocolate," he said, "You have to try it."

I wrapped my hands around the cup and took a small sip. It burned all the way down my throat but I couldn't believe the taste. It was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. It reminded me of having warm milk on a freezing day, sitting with Prim by the fire, and just being together.

I took my time eating breakfast because I remembered how stuffed I had been the night before. The rest of the meal consisted of quiet chatter and the sound of silverware on plates. When we were done eating, it was decided we had better watch the Reapings in Districts 1-11.

Effie led us to a small sitting room, which was dominated by a large television surrounded by comfortable furniture. Peeta sat in the chair across from me and Effie and Haymitch shared the couch in the center of the room. The Reapings would be playing throughout the next day until the Opening Ceremonies took place.

It looked to me as if the Tributes looked the same as they did every year. The Careers were massive and everyone else was of average stature. There was only one Tribute that stuck out in my mind. It was a little girl named Rue from District 11. She reminded me of Prim because of her small size. But, unlike Prim, no one volunteered to take her place.

When they showed our Reaping, I had to force myself to watch the screen. Everything unfolded just as I had remembered, but it seemed to be much faster. Within seconds of Effie calling Prim's name I was screaming that I would volunteer, but in that moment it felt like I was standing there for minutes.

When Peeta was Reaped, I saw his face and had to hold myself back from crying and asking God why it had to be him. He is the perfect person. He could go home and have any girl he wanted and they would marry him in a heartbeat, but he wanted me. There was no explanation for it, he just did. Unlike me, he had people who needed him at home. Prim and my mother could make it on their own but Peeta's family can't.

It isn't that Peeta's mother doesn't work hard, she does but Kale isn't even in school yet and Rye won't be able to find a job for a few good years. Peeta has to go home, not because I want him to but because he needs to.

When the Reapings were over, there wasn't much to say, but Effie was the first to speak. "Well, we should be arriving soon. Even with these old trains were can make it there in record time! I had better go freshen up!" and with that, she was off.

The rest of the ride was spent quietly watching what everyone in the Capitol had to say about this years Tributes. The Head-Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, was being interview just as the train was slowing down and we were entering the Capitol. Peeta had stood up to look out the window but I stayed where I was listening to what he was saying.

"I think this years Tributes will give us a fine show. I mean I can't really tell you until I see them in training but from what I can tell this will be a very memorable year," he smiled as the crowd cheered.

Peeta finally got me to turn away from the T.V. when he said my name, "Katniss, you have got to see this." For where I was sitting, I could see a huge city surrounded by tall mountains all around and to me, there looked to be no escape.

Peeta stopped trying to get me to come over when he saw I had no interest in getting up to look at it. When the train was plunged in darkness, I realized we were going through the side of the mountain to enter the city. Just when I felt I was about to exploded from the thought of getting trapped, we emerged into a crowd of thunderous applause. Peeta was waving back at them and I scowled.

"You better take notes from him Sweetheart. He knows what he's doing," Haymitch said taking a long drag from his bottle.

When we came to a complete stop, we were quickly taken to the Training Center, where we would be staying during our remainder in the Capitol. Peeta and I were each taken to separate rooms and before I knew what was happening, my Prep Team was there telling me how beautiful they were going to make me.

So far they had succeeded in pulling out all of my legs hair, taking off half of my eyebrows, and scrubbing my body so vigorusly, my skin was baby pink. Not to mention cleaning my nails and painting them an iridescent pink. But I heard them say the only thing they were not able to touch was my hair. I don't know why, but that's what they said.

"Well," Venia said looking my over as Flavius and Octavia gave me a few finishing touches, "I think you're ready to see Cinna."

"You can just stay here like this, until he gets here," Octavia says as they walk out the door. I'm left to my own devices until Cinna comes in and when he does, I'm stunned. He looks nothing like any of the stylists I've ever seen. To put it generally, he looks normal. The only trace of make-up on him is golden eyeliner.

"Hello, I'm Cinna, lovely to meet you, although not under these circumstances," he says offering his hand for me to shake, which I did. "Now, put your robe on and come have a seat with me," he says indicating toward the comfy couch to the side of the door.

Once I was seated, he began to speak, "You know, I think it was very brave, what you did for your sister."

"Thank you," I said looking up at him with a small smile.

"Now," he said, "I have a few questions for you. First of all, who did you hair," he said standing up to examine it.

"My mother did," I said waiting for him to come take a seat.

"Well," he said sitting down, "I want it to be your look. Which is why I didn't want the Prep Team to touch it because I want to be able to recreate it. Here's my second question, what do you imagine your Ceremonies costume will be this evening?"

"We're always coal miners," I said furrowing my eyebrows.

"All right, but what do we do with coal?" he asks.

"Well, we burn it but-" he cut me off.

"Exactly, I want to set you on fire." I was about to protest when he stopped me, "Now, I'm not really going to be setting you on fire. Portia, Peeta's stylist, and I have spent months creating a synthetic fire. It'll only looks like fire, you won't feel a thing. _Now_ what do you think about this years costumes?"

"It's brilliant," I said with a smile.

"I'm glad you think so," he said with a slight laugh, "there's really no turning back now."

Cinna helped me into a black, forming fitting unitary that had a cape reaching my feet. He had also fixed my hair so it didn't look like I had left it for two days, which I had. Once he had my long boots laced up, I was ready to go. We took an elevator down to the ground floor of the training center, where all of the Tributes would line up to make their way through the Capitol Square.

Peeta wasn't there when we got there so Cinna and I stood, patiently waiting until he and Portia arrived. When they did arrive, they had Peeta and I stand in our chariot so we didn't have flames licking up our back as we were walking. I looked at Peeta as Portia and Cinna came toward us brandishing blowtorches.

"All right," said Cinna, "on the count of three. One. Two. Three," and then we were engulfed in flames.

**A/N: Thank you so much for taking you time to read this! I would really appreciate it if you would leave me a review, telling me what I can improve on! Thanks again, have a great day!**


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